Modelling and Simulation of Lightning-Strike Damage to Aircraft CFRP Structures

With the growing interest to construct more efficient aircraft, more components are designed out of light-weight carbon fibre-reinforced (CFRP) structures. CFRP however, are poorer electrical and thermal conductors than aluminium alloys that have been used as the principal material. Therefore, CFRP structures susceptible to severe damage in the event of a lightning strike must be protected by appropriate lightning protection (LP) measures. This study provides an overview of the lightning strike phenomenon and the lightning-induced damage to protected CFRP structures. Moreover, a new approach for simulation of lightning-induced damage of protected CFRP structures is presented. This novel approach predicts the response of CFRP structures subjected to lightning strikes without the need to fit the model's parameters or recourse to experimentally determined parameters. The predictions agree well with experimental results and provide a new insight on the physics of the lightning-induced damage.